Smosh: One Shot Collection
by FredWeasleyFan1302
Summary: Exactly what it sounds like. I am taking requests for ships or general ideas.
1. Did You Mean It? (Marhinki)

**Another new Smosh story?! Unlike the other, this one doesn't follow any particular story it's just a collection of one shots dedicated to the various ships of Smosh. I decided to write this because I realised that I can't fit all the ships that I would like to in It Started With A (Game)Bang or Smosh College without it getting confusing. Finally, yes, Ianthony will be included. Enjoy! **

**Did You Mean It? (Marhinki)**

It was very rare that Matthew Sohinki found himself here, especially not after a good day of filming, but alas, here he was looking for comfort at the bottom of a bottle.

"Another" he told the bartender immediately at finishing the last.

Sure it was shitty beer, but if it took his mind off her, he wasn't about to complain.

As Sohinki stared at the fresh bottle now in front of him, he thought back to the events that had transpired in order for him to get here.

"Hey Matt" Mari greeted him cheerfully walking into the filming room. Turning around in his desk chair, Sohinki faced her and absorbed the beauty she irradiated.

"Hey Mari," he replied smiling "Had a good morning?"

"I thought the bear claw might give that away" Mari responded waving it in front of him before sitting at her desk next to him.

"Of course" Sohinki laughed only just noticing she had one.

Subtly, Sohinki looked around the room to check for any other cast or crew members that were present. Luckily, there were none.

"Speaking of bear claws, do you wanna get coffee with me later and just .. catch up?" He asked

"Catch up? Really? That's the best you could come up with?!" Mari laughed. Matt loved to hear her laugh, it seemed to make all of his problems disappear, as if in that moment, Mari was the only thing that mattered.

"Alright, you can just say no" Sohinki answered in mock outrage.

"Yes, I'd love to get coffee with you" she smiled.

"Are you sure" was all Sohinki could think to say in response.

Mari once again stared laughing hysterically, which, once again, caused Sohinki too. "Of course, you idiot!"

"Sorry to interrupt you two flirting, but we have a GTS episode to film" Lasercorn chimed in, frightening both Mari and Sohinki, who were unaware of his presence.

The episode itself was fairly uneventful, they ended up doing something called Hover Jet Jousting. There could've been more happening but Sohinki was completely distracted by Mari incessant texting with an unknown contact. It wouldn't bother him normally, but he had too much at stake for a mystery suitor to swoop in out of nowhere last minute. Unfortunately, he never had a chance to see who it was.

"Ready to go?" Sohinki asked walking up to Mari shortly after filming had wrapped on episodes for a few other shows.

"I'm sorry Matt, but I'm actually on my way to meet Peter ("so that's who she was texting" Sohinki thought). I think he wants to get back together" Sohinki's heart broke as soon as she said this, he knew how Mari felt about Peter and how badly hurt she was when he ended their relationship. Peter didn't deserve it, but Sohinki knew that Mari would take him back in a heartbeat if he asked.

"Rain check?" Mari asked

"O-Of course" Sohinki replied, desperately trying not to sound too broken.

"Okay great, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye guys"

"Bye Mari" the scattered voices of Lasercorn, Wes, Joven and Flitz responded.

Figuring he wouldn't be needed here, Sohinki slipped out the door and started heading towards the one place he knew he could heal his heartbreak for a little while: The bar.

Sometime around his fourth beer, Sohinki called it quits, he still had work the next day. He walked into the apartment he, Wes and Joven all shared and silently thanked any deity that was listening that they weren't home yet. He couldn't be doing with explaining his slight drunkenness. Surprisingly, he made it to his bedroom without falling at all. As soon as he saw his bed, he fell face first onto it, relishing in its comfort and security. Despite this, Sohinki found himself inexplicably unable to sleep. Drawing to the conclusion that there was simply too much on his mind, Sohinki grabbed his phone off the table next to him, surfed through his contacts until he found the right recipient, and wrote down everything that had been eating him up inside for the past few hours. He barely remembered hitting send before collapsing back onto the bed and falling sound asleep.

A rather loud, aggressive series of knocks on the front door abruptly tore Sohinki away from whatever kind of dream he was having. He groaned as he stepped out of bed, a searing pain now ever-present in his brain.

"Alright! I'm coming!" Sohinki snapped when the knocking started up again. He practically ran to the front door, hoping to avoid a third series of knocks. Attempting to block out the pain in his head, Sohinki lazily undid the present chains, locks and bolts on the door, all of which he didn't remembered using to lock the door last night. As soon as the last lock clicked open, Sohinki swung the door open revealing the culprit behind his now ruined dream.

"Mari" Sohinki stated, confused as to why she was on his doorstep. "What-What are you doing here?"

"How else are we gonna talk about last night?"

"Last night?"

"Your text? The one saying I was making a mistake with Peter, that I should be with you? That you love me?"

In a blinding moment, all of Sohinkis hazy memories regarding the previous night Came flooding back to him, including pouring his heart out over text ... to Mari.

"Look Mari, when I sent that text I was weak, I was depressed, drunk even" Sohinki revealed sighing in disbelief of his own stupidity.

"Did you mean it?" Mari asked softly, looking directly into his eyes.

"I don't..."

"It's a simple yes or no question, Matt. Did you mean it when you told me you loved me?"

Walking closer to Mari, Sohinki closed his eye before drawing in a sharp breath.

"Yes, I did. I do"

To Sohinki's dismay, Mari dropped her gaze. Figuring he'd just lost any chance he had at being in a relationship with her, Sohinki turned away from Mari, intent on leaving the situation.

"Where are you going?" Mari asked, looking back up at Sohinki

"Away" Sohinki replied simply, not wanting to make matters worse.

"Please don't" Mari quickly walked up to, place her hands on either side of his face and kissed him passionately. After recovering from the initial shock, Sohinki began to reciprocate.

"I love you too"


	2. Because Of You (Shourtney)

**Because Of You (Shourtney)**

It had been a rough day for Shayne. He had woken up an hour later than he intended to due to his compulsive need to work out every night. That lead to him missing most of the morning's shoots. Because of that, everyone was mad at him (even Damien), and he'd

been isolated from his best friends all day. He spent the entire walk home with his gaze transfixed on his shadow, the only 'person' that seemed to stay with him. Forcing him back into society, Shayne felt a familiar buzz against his leg. Repeatedly. Hoping to return to the silence he'd become very fond of, Shayne quickly checked who demanded his attention.

_CourtBourt_

"Great, I can't be dealing with this right" he thought, pressing ignore. Before he knew, Shayne found himself outside his house. Walking through the door, Shayne took a long, deep breath for collapsing face first onto his sofa.

"I'm so alone" he moaned into the cushion.

Once again, he was pulled out of his bubble of depression and back into the real world; this time by a rhythmic knocking on his door. Groaning, Shayne rolled of his sofa and stumbled to open his door.

"Courtney," he greeted the blonde as the door swung open. "What are you doing here?"

"How else am I supposed to get your attention, you're dodging my calls" she answered

"Well you were all mad at me, I didn't wanna listen to more of that"

"We weren't mad at you, we were just giving you a hard time for being late"

"Right,ok, what's up?"

"Are you going to this work do Ian's hosting?"

"Isn't it compulsory?"

"Yeah but like, are you going with anyone?"

"Just Damien, I guess"

"Oh" Courtney was clearly dismayed at this statement.

"Did you wanna come with me?"

Courtney's eyes lit up

"Really?"

"If you want"

"Sure, I'll see you tonight"

"Shit it's tonight?! What time"

"About 7, I think"

"Alright, I see you then"

"Awesome, bye Shayne"

"Bye Courtney"

As soon as the door closed, Shayne practically screamed, he had 3 hours to get ready for essentially a date. With Courtney. Something he's been dreaming about for 4 years. Imagining Pump It by The Black Eyed Peas playing in his head, Shayne ran to his bathroom, ready to take a shower.

**3 hours later**

"Okay how do I look?" Shayne asked his best friend, standing at the threshold to casa de Hecox.

"Personally, I would have gone with the green shirt, blue just isn't your colour" Damien joked. "Dude, chill out, I was just kidding" Damien admitted, seeing the despair on his face.

"Yeah, sorry man, I'm just really nervous about this"

"Relax, it's gonna be fine. Just be yourself, she likes that, for some reason"

"Okay that's not helping"

"Right, sorry"

Walking through the door, the boys were immediately met with scenes of a party.

"I thought this was a 'work do'" Damien commented turning back to Shayne.

"That's just what I called it to get everyone here." Ian revealed appearing behind them. "Welcome to the party, pals"

"Die Hard, nice" Damien commented

"I'm leaving" Shayne said and moved to find Courtney.

It didn't take long, she was standing by the drinks table clutching her red plastic cup.

"Hey" Shayne greeted, walking up to her.

"Shayne, you look great!" Courtney admired.

"Thanks so do you"

"Thank you"

Courtney brushed a strand of her hair behind her right ear and Shayne could've sworn her saw her blush.

"Drink?" He offered gesturing to the drinks table

"I would love one"

Over the next two hours, Shayne and Courtney has talked, laughed and flirted endlessly, to the point when they couldn't bare to leave.

"I guess this is goodnight" Courtney mumbled

"Unless you wanna come back to my place for coffee"

"Lead the way"

Less than 20 minutes later and they were at Shayne's door.

"Shayne, I need to tell you something. Normally, parties like that are completely unbearable for me but this one was much less unbearable. Because of you"

Having no words come to mind as an appropriate response Shayne simply lent forward and pressed his lips against Courtney's. To his amazement, she reciprocated almost immediately.

**The next day**

Waking up next to Courtney Miller was a dream come true for Shayne, he almost wished this moment never ended. Almost.

"That's my boy!" Damien's voice pierced the silence.

"Why did I give you a key?" Shayne laughed

"Because your a dumbass?" Courtney offered, joining in with the laughter.

"He is!" Damien shouted gleefully.

"You love me though" Shayne teased Courtney.

"Indeed, I do" she agreed and kissed him deeply.


	3. Give Me A Reason (Bozien)

**Give Me A Reason (Bozien)**

Today was a rough day for everyone at Smosh with them having to wave goodbye to Defy Media forevermore. Needless to say, emotions ran high for everyone; but none more so than Damien Haas. He had only been with the company less than a year, and now, it may all be over.

"You alright man?" Shayne asked his best friend, seeing him stare blankly back into the building.

"Yeah, it's just bittersweet I guess" Damien replied, not taking his eyes of the building.

"I get, not even a year here and now it's over. Feels like you're given the thing you want most in life and then it's snatched from under your nose" Shayne empathised.

"Hit the nail on the head there buddy"

"Are you two just gonna stare wistfully into a empty building the whole time, or are you gonna help?" Boze called, struggling to lift a box filled with a mix of personal belongings and decorations taken from the Smosh Games set.

"Yeah Shayne, I thought you were big and strong, come save me" Courtney teased, pretending to struggle herself.

With a wide smile across his face, Shayne ran off to help his girlfriend and coworker. Similarly, Damien strolled over to Boze, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible.

"Need a hand?" He offered, crouching down to help lift the box.

Within seconds, it along with two others were safely in Boze's car.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver" she chuckled, placing her hands in her pockets.

"Don't mention it"

An brief uneasy silence fell over the two before Damien asked Boze the one question he desperately wanted and needed to:

"Are we still gonna see each other after this?" He asked hesitantly, tilting his head towards the three boxes of memories sat to his right.

Boze remained silent for the next few seconds, sadness being reflected in her face.

"I..." She began

"If you two are done flirting, Ian's taking us all out for drinks as a farewell" Lasercorn interjected, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

Despite having left Smosh late the year before, both Lasercorn and Sohinki had come by to help their old friends leave what they once called home.

"Yeah, okay, we'll be right there" Boze answered, closing the trunk of her car.

Satisfied, Lasercorn walked off to inform the rest of the gang.

"You were saying?" Damien urged, waiting on an answer that would define the next few months of his life.

"It can wait" Boze answered simply before walking off to join the rest of the group.

Hanging his head, Damien dejectedly did the same.

"Well it's been a hell of a ride. We've had our highs. We've certainly had our lows. We lost a few people along the way, but through it all we stuck together, we grew together, we had fun together. As a family. To Smosh" Ian toasted.

"To Smosh" Everyone repeated, followed by the clinking of multiple glasses all at once.

On the whole, the night was pretty fun for Damien. He drank, he laughed with his friends, he saw Joven do karaoke. That was ... an experience. But there was one thing that kept eating away at him.

"What were you gonna say?" Damien asked, sitting next to Boze at the bar.

"What do you mean?" She asked in return, turning to face him.

"Back at Defy, when I asked you if we'd still see each other, what were you gonna say?"

"Oh right" The same look of pure sadness once again appeared on her face.

"No" she said simply after what felt like sons to Damien.

"Oh, I see" Damien responded, echoing her sadness.

Seeing his face, Boze immediately felt an overwhelming amount of guilt.

"Oh God, no, it's not what you think! " She practically shouted. "Even if Smosh recover from this, I'm not coming back" she clarified.

"Wow, okay. Can I ask why?" A shocked Damien wondered, clutching his vodka and coke.

"I just don't feel like belong in this group of remarkable people. Compared to them, to you, I'm talentless."

A tear rolled down Damien's cheek.

"I'm not gonna sit here and praise you until the bar closes, I mean I easily (Both Boze and Damien chuckled), but I can tell there's no changing your mind. So, instead I'll say good luck with whatever you do in the future, you're gonna smash it and I'm gonna miss you"

By the end, Damien had Boze's hand in his. Looking up at Damien and seeing the pain in his eyes, Boze knew she had to at least try and find a reason to stay with him.

"Give me a reason to stay, and I will"

Damien could think of a million reasons that she should stay at the company, but there was only one that would work now.

"Me"

Damien laid on his couch, staring blankly at the ceiling, music faintly providing an environment for him. Last night, he had asked Boze to stay at a job she didn't feel comfortable in, just because he had feelings for her. He couldn't believe he was so selfish. A trio of small knocks sounded on the door to Damien's apartment, bringing back into the present. Groaning, Damien shuffled towards the door. When he swung it open, he was facing the one person he hoped not to see today.

"Can we talk?" Boze asked.

Damien didn't respond, instead he slammed the door and turned to leave. Making it three steps from the door, the guilt of both his actions then and the previous night caught up with Damien, prompting him to own up to them. Turning back around, Damien slowly reopened the door and began apologising profusely.

"I'm so sorry, not just for that but for last..."

Interrupting him, Boze steppes forward and hesitantly kissed Damien. Upon parting lips, Boze went back in for a second to which Damien happily obliged.

"...night. What was that for?" An equally excited and stunned Damien asked.

Boze just smiled and kissed him passionately.

"I choose you"


	4. Looks Red, Tastes Blue (Maricorn)

**Looks Red, Tastes Blue (Maricorn)**

Loneliness is a bitch. At least from Lasercorn's point of view it is. It had been 2 weeks since Sabrina had called off their engagement and Lasercorn had barely moved from his bed, let alone left his apartment. Predictably, his phone lit up with messages from everyone at Smosh Games including Ian and Anthony. Groaning, Lasercorn flipped his phone over so that it was now face down on his nightstand, and returned to his regularly scheduled programme of staring at the ceiling.

Somehow, Lasercorn had allowed himself to fall asleep.

"Unacceptable" he murmured.

"What's unacceptable?" Sohinki asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Lasercorn rubbed his eyes, afraid he was hallucinating. He wasn't.

"How did you get in? What do you want? What day is it?" Lasercorn asked in one breath.

Sohinki pushes himself off the doorframe and entered the room, chuckling.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down. One question at a time"

"Sorry" Lasercorn muttered

"You gave me a spare key so I would always have a place to crash, I'm here to get you back on your feet and into the studio, it's Monday" Sohinki answered with a bow.

Lasercorn couldn't lie, that was amusing.

"I can't come back man. I can't pretend to be happy and play video games with you guys when I'm dying inside"

"Okay, but do you really think wallowing in your own self pity, staring at her picture all the time is gonna help?"

"What do you know, you've never been heartbroken"

Sohinki sighed helplessly. "Just remember, you're my best friend"

"Okay?"

Slowly, Sohinki walked up to Lasercorn, raised his hand and brought it down quickly across Lasercorn's right cheek.

"What the actual fuck, Matt?!" Lasercorn shouted, jumping to his feet, pain searing through his face.

"David Moss, man the fuck up! Your fiancé left you, she didn't die. It's okay to be sad, but this (Sohinki gestured to Lasercorn homeless look and the tissues littering the floor) is just pathetic! You are going to get back in the real world and you are going to do it now!"

Sohinki was breathing hard and Lasercorn looked utterly taken aback.

"Wha.. right now?" Lasercorn mused as Sohinki stared at him expectantly.

"Yes!"

"Alright, I'm going, keep your hair on."

"Maybe take a shower first" Sohinki mused as Lasercorn walked past him.

Lasercorn said nothing and simply raised his middle finger as he ventured to his bathroom.

"All I'm saying is me and Courtney have one and it makes our apartment feel more like a home, you should consider getting one. Maybe you won't feel alone" Sohinki reasoned as he and Lasercorn entered the Smosh Games studio.

"Sohinki, I'm not getting a fucking plant" Lasercorn laughed.

"I know that voice!" Mari squealed as Matt and Lasercorn entered the room. Immediately she ran up Lasercorn and hugged him. "Welcome back!"

"You can thank Sohin for that" Lasercorn responded honestly. '_Is it just me or_ _does Mari look and smell really good today_' Lasercorn thought. '_Wait..what? I've never thought of Mari in that way, that's like Joven level creepy_' "Okay, Mari maybe let go now" Lasercorn reasoned once he realised that Mari still had her arms around him.

"Sorry" she blushed

"It's alright"

"I'm still here you know!" Sohinki waved his hands in front of the both of them, getting their attention.

"Sohinki, stop being an attention whore" Anthony chuckled as he, Ian and Joven entered the room. "Welcome back man" he greeted Lasercorn.

"Yeah, it's good to be back. So, what are we playing today?"

"Just Dance today, Rock Band tomorrow" Ian answered.

"Really, Just Dance?!" Lasercorn whined.

"You never should've come back" Joven joked.

As much as he hated playing the game, Lasercorn couldn't deny that he was having fun. Predictably, he was performing the worst out of everyone.

"You're definitely doing something, not what's on the screen but something" Joven commented.

"Hey, shut up, my moves are too sexy for this game!" Lasercorn responded.

"Oh no, I don't know this move, I have to freestyle" Lasercorn immediately went into his signature Raptor Claws move.

"Yeah, the raptor claws!" Mari cheered in between bouts of uncontrollable laughter. Lasercorn couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she laughing.

_'What is with you today, Corn?_' He thought.

3315 the screen read once Lasercorn's song has ended.

"Damn, that's not good" Lasercorn panted.

"No, it's not. In fact, it's dead last" Joven confirmed.

"Oh, son of a bitch!"

Inexplicably, Mari only received a score of 5156 for her dance despite giving the best performance, putting her in the bottom two with Lasercorn.

"Now our two losers here will be dancing a couples dance to One Thing by One Direction. The only fitting duet song we could find" Sohinki announced.

As Lasercorn and Mari did their best to mimic the moves displayed on the screen, Lasercorn began to drown out the other four guys and even slightly blocked out the game, focusing solely on Mari and the way she moved with such grace. There was no denying it any more. For the second time in his life, Lasercorn was in love.

**The next day**

"So Lasercorn, what are you calling your band?" Ian mused.

"The only thing I can: Anthony's Mom Is Promiscuous!"

Everyone started cheering and laughing at the name.

"Now, it's very pertinent that I sing Looks Red,Tastes Blue by Mayday Parade,so that's what we'll play"

"Why? What's the song about?" Joven asked in an accusatory tone.

"You'll find out, now shut up it's starting"

"**This Is the longest day I've ever had. I'm far away but I am right there. If** **distance only makes you stronger, don't make it last any longer**" Lasercorn sang softly, matching the pitch of the song.

"So it's about a crush," Ian deducted "who?"

"I refuse to answer your questions" Lasercorn laughed once he had the time to be able to.

"Oh chorus here we go: **If I pinch myself so that I wake, that means it never really happened. 'Cause I can feel my tears finding their way. I fear it's worse than I imagined. But I'll hold this memory, and I swear I won't forget your face. 'Cause pictures always seem to fade away. Now my blood turns red to blue, and I can't breath without you" **

"Okay, forget the point system, if you don't tell us who you were singing about right now, you're doing the punishment" Anthony threatened.

Lasercorn soared a quick glance at Mari and he could swear they locked eyes briefly.

"Then I'll do the punishment, I'm not telling you losers" Lasercorn laughed

One embarrassing solo performance later and Lasercorn was getting ready to leave the office.

"Hey, Lasercorn wait up!" Mari called running up to him.

"What's up?" Lasercorn asked once Mari had caught her breath.

"Walk me home?"

"Sure"

The walk to Mari's apartment was a good distance, allowing for a great deal of conversation to pass between the two, leading to Mari asking the one question Lasercorn had been dreading.

"Who did you sing Looks Red, Tastes Blue about?"

Lasercorn started stammering, desperately looking for a believable lie before realising they were standing right outside her apartment.

"Oh look at that, we're at your place. Whoops, guess you'll never know. Goodnight!" Lasercorn chuckled anxiously turning to leave.

"No, no, no, you're not getting out of this that easily" she replied, dragging him back. "Now tell me"

Dejectedly, Lasercorn stares at the floor before lifting his head inhaling and uttering one simple yet powerful word.

"You"

"Me?"

"I can't stop thinking about you. You're the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing on my mind at night. You bring a smile to my face every day, I love spending time with you. I..I.."

Mari brought a finger to his lips.

"I can't stop thinking about you either"

Hesitantly, she pressed her lips against his. To her delight, Lasercorn responded by adding more passion to the kiss, resting his hand on her hips and her, around his neck. After what felt like a blissful eternity, they broke apart.

"Wow" was all Lasercorn could manage.

Mari in turn said nothing, instead turning to unlock her front door. Once the door swung open, she faced Lasercorn again; armed with a coy smile and a seductive look in her eyes.

"Coming?"

"Absolutely"


	5. Face Down (Courthinki)

**Face Down (Courthinki)**

Courtney sat facing herself in the mirror, shaking as she tentatively applied excess makeup to her face, covering up the obvious indicators of her less than ideal home life.

"It's never gonna happen again," she whispered. "It was a one time thing, he was angry. It's understandable"

Slowly, Courtney stood up and finished getting ready before heading downstairs. She found Shayne sat alone in the kitchen drinking what she hoped was coffee.

"I'm heading to work now, I'll see you later" she muttered, walking towards the door.

"Wait." The sound of a wooden chair leg scraping against a hard-tiled floor could be heard echoing through the house, followed by footsteps as Shayne walked over to Courtney. Courtney winced as he placed his hand on her hip and proceeded to kiss her.

"You know I love you right, I don't mean to hurt you. I just can't control my anger sometimes." He pleaded

"I know" Courtney answered quietly, struggling to make eye-contact.

Shayne smiles brightly.

"Come on, I'll drive you"

"Surprise, surprise. No one's here." Sohinki thought aloud as he entered the Smosh Games office.

Sighing, he flopped into his blue computer chair and proceeded to turn on his pop punk/punk rock playlist whilst getting the various systems ready for the day's shoots. Within minutes, Sohinki was finished and still, no one else had arrived. Seeing no other option, he decided to play a few games of Hearthstone before the rest of the gang arrived.

20 minutes later, half way into Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Sohinki was joined by Courtney rushing into the room.

"Matt, Hey, I'm not late am I?" She panted.

Sohinki checked the time on his computer: 9:15.

"By 15 minutes, but don't worry, no one else is here yet" he answered.

"Oh thank god!"

Courtney swept a lock of her blonde hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. In doing this movement, her shirt lifted slightly and Sohinki saw the faint outline of blue and purple on her hip.

"Jesus, Court! What happened?" He asked, rushing over to make sure she was okay.

"What are you ... Oh. Nothing, I just fell out of bed this morning" Courtney answered quickly before aggressively pulling her shirt down.

"That doesn't seem like the kind of bruise falling out of bed would leave"

"I'm fine, Matt, just drop it." Courtney insisted before making her way over to her own desk.

A horrifying revelation dawned on Sohinki.

"Shayne didn't.. hit you did he?" He asked slightly afraid of the answer.

Courtney day in silence for a few seconds simply staring at her blank computer screen.

"I don't wanna talk about it" she eventually answered.

"Courtney, you've gotta get help, anyone you can. You shouldn't have to live like this. You shouldn't have to suffer"

Sohinki sat beside Courtney, contemplating whether or not to hug her.

"It's not that simple. Telling people will only make things worse, calling the police will only make things worse. There's nothing I can do to stop it without him getting even more angry and hitting me, or worse" Courtney began to tear up and held her head in her hands.

"Stay at my place tonight, we can figure something out together" Sohinki offered placing his arm around Courtney.

"Your not listening are you?!" Courtney shouted, pushing Sohinki away. "There's nothing I can do! There is no 'figuring something out'! All I can do is suffer"

"That's not true, you can use your voice. If you can't tell other people about what's happening, tell him. Tell him how you feel. Tell him you've had enough. Make yourself heard."

Courtney dried her eyes and faced Sohinki .

"This (she lifted up her shirt slightly) can't be fixed with words" she whispered as Wes, Joven, Lasercorn and Mari all entered, apologising for being late.

Sohinki was seeing red now mad he knew exactly direct his anger.

"Hey!" Sohinki shouted, spotting Shayne about to enter his house. "I wanna talk to you"

Shayne turned around and smiled, recognising Sohinki.

"Matt, right? You work with Courtney. Thought I recognised you from somewhere, what's up?"

"She's exactly what I wanna talk about actually" Sohinki's brain started to go erratic, playing movie quotes over and over. '_This is it, don't get scared now_' was one that popped up a lot.

"I know" Sohinki revealed vaguely.

"Know what?"

"What happens behind that door whenever you get angry or things don't go your way."

Shayne expression darkened.

"You better watch what you say, you don't want to make an accusation you'll come to regret" He threatened.

Sohinki stepped forward so that he was face to face.

"Do you feel like a man, pushing her around? Does watching her fall to the ground make you feel better? You are a sadistic fucking monster and sooner or later your world's gonna come crashing down, your lies are gonna crumble down around you as she says 'Enough is enough' and moves on to a better life while you rot in jail!" Sohinki spat, emptying his mind of everything he could think of to say.

The last thing Sohinki saw before complete black was Shayne's fist inches away from his face.

Groaning, Sohinki sat up and looked around.

"How did I get in my apartment?" He wondered.

"I brought you here" Courtney answered, walking into the room holding two mugs of tea. "I hope you don't mind, I'm all out of teabags" she explained.

"Not at all" Sohinki answered relieving her of one of the mugs and prompting her to sit next him on the bed.

"What were you thinking?!" She yelled, hitting the back of Matt's head, causing him to spit out the tea he had just sipped. "Sorry, not sorry"

Matt sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"I just wanted to confront him for hurting you in that way"

"To what end?"

"I don't know! I probably made it worst but I couldn't just sit back and let it happen. You're my friend, I want you to be safe, to be happy and to be in a loving non-violent relationship with a caring partner"

"Someone like you, perhaps?" Courtney raised an eyebrow.

Sohinki said nothing, slurping his tea instead.

Courtney shook her head in mock disbelief and began to laugh.

"He confronted me, you know. After I found you he pulled me inside and started accusing me of spreading lies about him. There were a few fists raised and some thrown" Courtney revealed after she had calmed down.

Sohinki looked at her sadly, sort of like a lost puppy.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything"

He whined, softly rubbing her leg.

"No it was good! I actually ended confronting, telling him that I'd had enough and leaving. So, you actually did me a massive favour. I just don't know how to thank you."

"How about a date?" Sohinki smirked.

"Sounds fair" Courtney chuckled, lightly nudging Matt.

"So, where are you gonna live now?" Sohinki asked.

"Well," Courtney pushes the bedroom door open further, revealing a stack of boxes and a few duffel bags placed neatly in a corner. "Do you mind?"

Sohinki sucked some air through his teeth and faced Courtney with a comically hesitant look on his face. "I don't know, that's a pretty big step and we haven't even gone on a date yet"

Courtney started laughing authentically and uncontrollably.

"Shut up" she managed, playfully shoving Matt.


	6. January Gloom (Iancorn)

**January Gloom (Iancorn) **

David Moss awoke with a jolt. Frantically, he searched for his phone intending to check the time. Eventually he found stashed under his pillow.

"Shit" he exclaimed upon seeing the Time was 9:02 am. "I'm late"

Rushing to get ready for his day, David began thinking over the latest song he was working on.

_"We met after dark and after hours. Your lips were cherry sour. We didn't have to_ _speak_" he recited while gathering clothes from his closet.

_"We were breaking out and starting over. Where nothing could control us. The_ _future's at our feet_" he continued, making his way to the bathroom.

"_But nothing gold can stay you told me so. Sometimes moving on means letting_ _go_" he sang during his short shower.

After finishing getting dressed and overall prepared for his day, David moved on to the chorus during his drive over to the studio.

"_Stuck in the .. sad summer daze. Don't fade away. Don't fade away from me now. Sad summer daze, don't fade away. Don't fade away from me now."_

Before he get to the second verse, he was interrupted by his phone ringing.

"What's up dude?" He greeted after answering and placing it on speaker.

"Hey, where are you? You were supposed to be here half an hour ago!" Matthew Sohinki answered on the other end.

"My alarm didn't go off but I'm on my way now don't worry" David answered.

"Alright, just hurry, Anthony's already pissed enough as it is"

"I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Yeah, I know"

"You alright Matt, you sound stressed?"

"I just wanna get this finished you know? We're so close"

"Today's the day Matt, I can feel it"

"There he is!" Damien shouted, watching David walk through the door.

"Dude! What kept you?" Noah asked looking up from the drum set.

"My alarm didn't go off. Look, let's just get this done, I finished up Summer Daze last night so we should be good.

"Okay, let's give it a shot" Damien commanded.

"Moss!" A powerful voice echoed across the studio, as a sharply dressed tall man ,with what could only be described as an emo man haircut, marched out of an office. "Half an hour late, you better have a good fucking excuse."

David cleated his throat.

"I'm afraid I don't Mr Padilla"

Anthony's stern exterior started to crack.

"David what did I tell you? Call me Anthony"

"Yeah of course, sorry Anthony. Um, I finished Summer Daze"

"Is that that 'new sound' you promised me for this album?" Anthony inquired, generally intrigued.

"No, I'm still working on that. This is the song that's going to close out the album."

"Okay, so how long is that 'new sound' going to take to finish?"

David shrugged slightly.

"A day maybe?"

Behind him, David could hear the sighs from his band mates and the clatters from now abandoned musical equipment.

"You told me this would be done today" Matt, the lead guitarist, whined.

"We've been working on this for a year" Damien, the bassist, added on.

"We're tired" Noah, the drummer, finished.

"Look, I'm sorry. I've got most of it but past the second chorus, my mind is blank" David answered defensively.

Anthony placed his hand on David's shoulder and guided him away from the rest of the group.

"Look, I like you Moss, always have. You're a talented guy, your orange hair matches your punk image and you're a hard worker. But if you don't get this song finished by the end of the day, I'm going to have to pull the plug on this album. And your band." Anthony threatened. "Don't let me down" he added with a smile before walking back into his office.

David rejoined his band.

"Look you guys go home, get some rest, I'm gonna go someplace and work on this last song. I'll call you when I have something"

"Alright, see ya later" the three of them murmured in response.

David was sat in a small cafe he frequented, laptop on table struggling to make the right words fill his mind.

"Come on, this shouldn't be this hard"

"Are you writing your memoirs or something?" A voice spoke from the other side of the table.

David pulled the laptop lid down to see who was addressing him. He was met with a rather tall barista delivering him his cappuccino (it sounded adult). David found himself noting the barista's dazzling blue eyes, faint stubble on both his chin and upper lip and thick brown hair swept to the left. Realising he was staring, David started stammering, trying to answer the question.

"Uh, Uh, Uh, no I..I'm writing a song. Well, trying to. I can't seem to find the right words."

"A song? Are you in a band or something?" The barista asked.

"I am actually. I'm the lead vocalist in Contagious Chemistry"

"Hmm, never heard of 'em."

"Do you mind if I take a look? I a bit of a songwriter myself" the barista asked after a brief silence.

"Yeah, of course" David answered, opening the laptop for the barista to see.

Immediately, the word document for the song David had been working on illuminated the screen.

"January Gloom? Intriguing name" the barista noted.

The word document read:

"_I've got myself a brand new pair of boots, to keep the rain out. I've got myself a brand new leather coat, to fight the cold. I've gotta a find a way to break this spell, before I lose it. A victim of the season, I need a better reason to be miserable. _

_Blame it on the weather, can't keep it together now. _

_So, can you save me from this January Gloom? Hiding in your room, the things that we could do. Your like the sunshine in the lazy days of June. Hiding in your room, save me from this January Gloom. _

_Another drop of Hudson in the dark, to lift these spirits. Another record spins my heavy heart, and flips the script. Some crazy way to turn this life around, you know I'll take it. A victim of the season, fuck another reason to be miserable. _

_Blame it on the weather, can you make it better now? _

_Come on and save me from this January Gloom. Hiding in your room, the things that we could do. You're like the sunshine in the lazy days of June. Hiding in your room, save me from this January Gloom. "_

"Okay, first of all, this is really really good." The barista praised. "And it seems to me like the song is about having this person that makes things like the 'January Gloom' much better situations than they are"

"Hit the nail on the head, there" David confirmed.

"So with that in mind, perhaps the bridge could focus on balancing on the opposing forces at play in the song, the darkness of the situation and the light this person brings?"

"Holy shit, that's brilliant"

"So how about something like this '_And all the things I'd like to tell you, save them_ _for another day. Somewhere not so far. Just for now, we'll shut those words away_'" The barista suggested

"'_There you are, there you were. You do your best or you do your worst. All I want, all I need for now is you to save me._'" David continued.

"Yes!"

"This is bloody brilliant."

"Yes it is. We make quite the pair Mr. ..."

"Moss. David Moss but you can call me by my stage name "Lasercorn"" Lasercorn answered, offering his hand.

"Hecox. Ian Hecox" Ian replied shaking Lasercorn's hand.

"So, how'd you get the stage name Lasercorn?"

"It's because of a tattoo I have on my right shoulder. I'll show you sometime."

"At least buy me a drink first" Ian laughed, holding his hands up in defence.

"Alright, what time do you get off?"

Ian chuckled

"No, seriously, what time do you get off?" Lasercorn asked.

"My shift ends in an hour" Ian confirmed smiling.

"Great, I'm going finished this up and I'll wait for you"

"Perfect"

"Hey Sohinki, I'm sending you the file for the newly finished January Gloom, complete with my guitar rhythm. Can you take a look, come up with a fitting bass and attach a file with that bass to the song? I'm asking Noah and Damien to do the same. Once your finished, send it back to me and I'll pass it on to Anthony for him to clean up and add to the album"

"Sure, I can do that" Sohinki answered on the other side of the phone call. "But don't you want to present it in person to us so we go over the song, and our contributions, together?"

"I can't"

"Wait, why not?"

"Ready to go?" Ian asked walking up to Lasercorn.

"Yeah, just give me a second" Lasercorn answered Ian.

"Because Matt, I have a date"


End file.
